What caused Gustav Adolf to intervene is a longtime subject of historical controversy. “ An older generation of historians saw him, as his contemporaries did, simply as the Protestant Hero, the “Lion of the North”; later, he was viewed as having been moved by purely political considerations; and in recent days he has been characterized as an economic imperialist who sought to remedy Sweden’s poverty by seizing control of the whole Baltic coastline” (Dodge 153 ) Gustav brought to Germany , an “army of unusual quality” (Dodge 103) that fought in a style that was new to Germany as Gustav combined tactical innovations with the grander concept of strategy that Europe has not seen for many years. “By reducing the size of the tactical unit, by opposing a flexible linear formation to the cumbrous massive formations of his opponents, by solving the perennial problem of combining infantry and cavalry, missile weapons and shock, and, lastly, by producing the first easily maneuverable light artillery, he completed the transformation of the art of war” ( Dodge 103). When Gustav landed in Germany he had no allies and was even resented by the Protestant princes as well as the refusal of George William of Brandenburg to cooperate, which lead to the capture and sack of Magdeburg after falling into the hands of Tilly’s Armies. “In September John George of Saxony, provoked by violations of his neutrality, formally allied himself with Sweden. In September 1631, at Breitenfeld, the Swedish-Saxon forces shattered Tilly’s army in a battle that was a landmark in the art of war and a turning point in the history of Germany. In the ensuing months, Gustav swept triumphantly through central Germany, systematically consolidating his base areas as he advanced; by Christmas, he had established himself at Mainz. It seemed that the fate of Germany lay in his hands.” (Dodge 153) The outcome of the war depended on the campaign of 1632 which planned to cripple Bavaria before the launch of the conquest of Vienna in 1633. It was highly successful/ The crossing of the Lech River in Bavaria while facing Tilly’s armies opened the way to the occupation of Munich.”In this crisis, Wallenstein, whom the emperor had dismissed from his service in 1630, was recalled to lead the imperial armies. His threat to Nürnberg forced Gustav to leave Bavaria in order to relieve the city. His attack on Wallenstein’s entrenchments on the Alte Veste—an operation that probably no other contemporary commander would have attempted—was unsuccessful, and for the next few weeks there followed a tense war of maneuver that ended when Gustav fell upon Wallenstein’s army at Lützen (Nov. 6, 1632) as it was dispersing to winter quarters. ” ( Dodge 156) The morning mist stole the advantage of surprise from Gustav and gave Wallenstein time to recombine his forces. The battle raged fiercely all throughout the day, however, when night came, the Swedes won an important victory. It was however without high costs. “for while leading a cavalry charge Gustav became separated from his men and perished in the melee.” ( Dodge 203)
Gustav Adolf’s death came at a moment where it appeared that victory that he thought to be essential to the security of Sweden as well as the stability of Germany would be more difficult to achieve than he could ever imagine, however, he lived long enough to deflect the path of German history. The intervention in the Thirty Years’ War at a time when the armies of the Habsburg emperor and Catholic German Princes controlled almost all of Germany, the survival of German Protestantism against the onslaughts of the Counter-Reformation was ensured. By doing this Gustav Adolf defeated the attempts of the Habsburgs to make their imperial authority a reality and thus resulted in the delayed unification of Germany.
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